In packaging products for shipment, it is frequently desirable to protect the product from damage which could be caused from bumps and bruises which are inherent in product shipment. It has become the practice to enclose products in oversized containers and include some type of packaging material, such as shredded paper, excelsior or styrofoam peanuts to provide protection for the product.
Another packaging procedure that has been employed is to enclose the product in an inner carton and place the carton in a second carton which makes up an outer protective barrier. Packaging material, such as shredded paper, excelsior or styrofoam peanuts surround the inner carton to provide protection for the product.
Yet another attempt to protect product shipment is to provide form-fitted compartment inserts within the packaging carton. Such packaging can consist of fitted styrofoam or plastic which specifically cradles a product being shipped to protect the product from damage.
Yet another attempt to protect products in shipping is the use of a foam egg carton inserts which are placed within the carton and cradle the product being shipped. Another attempt to protect products when shipping is to place the product between resilient membranes which act to suspend the product a distance from the walls of the shipping container thereby giving the protection desired.
The drawback of all of these packaging containers is that each adds considerably to the expense of packaging and therefore the expense of the product to consumers. For example, packaging which includes packaging material not only adds the expense of the packaging materials itself but also includes the added cost during manufacturing of placing the packaging material in the carton, placing the product on a bed of the packaging material, and filling the carton with the packaging material. The use of inner cartons within outer protective shells also entails the use of additional material as well as the additional manufacturing expense. The use of form fitted compartments inserts is expensive in that each package includes additional packaging materials which increases the cost of manufacturing such packaging containers as well as the cost of carrying in inventory large amounts of packaging containers to insure that sufficient quantities are in on hand for each different type of product shipped. Use of foam egg carton packaging entails not only the additional expense of the material itself but also the added cost of manufacturing or placing additional components which are inserted into the packaging carton.
What would be useful would be a package which provides support for and protection of the product during shipment. Such container would further be capable of protecting products of various sizes and shapes without the need to manufacture specifically different packaging or for each different product. Such container would achieve these benefits in a cost-efficient packaging environment.